Loose-leaf Links #29

Loose-leaf Links is a feature where I gather together the interesting bits and pieces on sci-fi and fantasy I’ve come across and share them with you over tea. Today’s tea is Tassie Devil Tea from The Art of Tea. This mix of Australian, Indian and Sri Lankan teas is surprisingly light, making it a good afternoon tea. It is also a tea with a good cause: 50c from the sale of each packet goes directly to the Bonorong Wildlife Hospital.

Regular readers will know I’m a huge fan of Juliet Marillier and loved her latest book, Den of Wolves. If you’re also a fan and live in the US, you may be interested to know she’ll be appearing at a few conventions over the next few weeks.

Community and Conventions

Earlier this month, David Weingart was fired from the Worldcon staff for failing to abide by an agreement to stay away from another staff member. Jim C. Hines has a summary and analysis of the situation.

In equally unpleasant news, a number of women in the SFF community spoke out against Sunil Patel for gaslighting and manipulative behaviour. File 770 has some of the relevant links. A number of publishers have distanced themselves from Patel, including the Book Smugglers–who will no longer be selling Patel’s novella The Merger.

On Equity

The Stella Count is a survey of reviews featured in Australian publications. It particularly examines the gender breakdown of authors reviewed. In 2015, a new survey was added. Female and gender-diverse authors were contacted and invited to answer four short questions on gender identity, sexuality, race and disability. The results were released earlier this month.